Something Wicca this way comes
by Carlysxfiles
Summary: My first attempt at Buffy fanfic, so be gentle with me: After Tara's 20th birthday everything appears to be perfect in her life, she's officially a scoobie, one of the family. But when a tragic accident leaves her link to the scoobies in hospital hanging
1. Chapter 1

Something Wicca this way comes …

Author: Carly  
Rating: T  
Category: Drama/Sci fi.  
Summary: After Tara's 20th birthday everything appears to be perfect in her life, she's officially a Scooby, one of the family. But when a tragic accident leaves her link to the Scooby's in hospital hanging onto life by a thread, she must keep that connection with the Scooby's alive because she's the only one who can bring her back. Will Buffy and the rest of the gang see it that way or will their grief blind them to the key for their friend's survival?

* * *

Tara put down the book she'd been reading and glanced down to the sleeping body beside her. No matter how long she spent reading up on spells or trying to keep up with her, she was always ten steps ahead. She was an amazing woman, a talented Wicca and Tara loved her more than anyone in the world. It was still difficult to believe that of all the women in the world she had chosen her, something about her had made Willow Rosenberg decide she wanted to be with her. It made her heart flutter and she shuffled down the bed to get underneath the covers.

She had just had the best birthday of her life, and now she got to go to sleep with the woman that she loved and she couldn't ever imagine feeling happier. Willow stirred a little and reached out an arm to her. Tara took it and placed her arm around her, drawing her close.

"You done reading?"

"Yep."

"Time for snuggles?" Tara smiled.

"There's always time for snuggles," Willow turned so that she was facing her but didn't open her eyes.

"What were you reading?"

"Just a spell book."

"Again? It's your birthday, no studying."

"Actually my birthday ended a couple hours ago," Willow opened her eyes slowly and smiled.

"Maybe someday we'll be able to turn back time, make everyday your birthday."

"As long as it's this birthday I'd like that," they kissed softly and resumed comfortable positions in which to fall asleep. Tara smiled to herself and sighed as Willow did the same. Perfection.

* * *

Buffy had been sitting in the dark for over an hour now. She hadn't even gotten into bed until after one, but now she just wished she could become sleepy and fall asleep. Unfortunately the ability to stay awake in the early hours no matter how exhausted her body was all part of the slayer package. Riley had gone home after the Bronze; she'd wanted to ask him to stay but wanted him to just know. It was stupid she knew that, how could he know unless she asked? But on some level wasn't that a part of his job as the boyfriend? To know when she did and didn't need him close? Or was that just some crazy female thing that men could never understand and complained about with other guys?

Giving up on any notion of sleep, Buffy got out of bed and went downstairs. It had come to this. Warm cocoa. Never failed when she was a kid, had worked through her teens, it was surely a life long commitment thing. Once warm cocoa had seduced you into it's lull of deep sleep, it lasted a lifetime. As she sipped the warm drink in her hands ten minutes later she felt her eyelids begin to droop and a familiar sense of needed to lie down and close her eyes consumed her. Like magic her potion had worked.

As she made her way back up the stairs her mind was thrown to thinking about Willow and how much she had changed in the five years they had been friends. They'd all changed, but Willow, she'd transformed into this beautiful intelligent woman with a girlfriend, from high school geek in love with Xander. It was a good thing she was sure, she had never seen her best friend happier. It was good that her friends were happy. And in love. Willow and Tara, Xander and Anya, she and Riley. Riley. She was thinking of him again.

Staring at the ceiling she realized that in fact she wasn't tired after all. The cocoa had worn off and all she could do was wonder what Riley was doing. Why he hadn't offered to walk her home, why he'd waited until the last minute to let Giles offer to bring her. In some ways she was glad, her time with Giles now seemed more important, he was the only one who knew about Dawn. But she would've taken a night off from talk of the Key and this new big bad to spend time with her boyfriend.

As the hours past her by she struggled to relax and induce a need for sleep. By six am she gave up completely and decided to get up and take a shower. After the shower came the need to pick out today's outfit – a white top with jeans and her favorite pair of boots were order of the day, and then she went downstairs to make breakfast. Upon entering the kitchen she was surprised to see Dawn already up and dressed, sitting patiently at the table.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for breakfast."

"You couldn't make it yourself?"

"You're living here again, I don't need to anymore," Dawn stood up from her chair and waited whilst Buffy poured a bowl of cereal for herself and walked into the living room with Dawn glaring after her.

"You're always saying I treat you like a kid, well now's your chance to be a grown up Dawn, make your own breakfast," as Dawn began to protest the phone rang and she looked at Buffy with concern. They both had the same fear that nobody called before eight am unless it was bad news.

Buffy picked up the receiver and put down her bowl of cereal.

"B – Buffy?"

"Tara? Is that you?"

"B – Buffy, there w-was an accident, you s-should come."

"Tara, what is it? What happened?"

"It's Willow."


	2. Chapter 2

When Tara had woken up this morning and found the space in bed beside her empty she had been surprised to not see Willow. Sitting up and looking around the room she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but her eyes fell upon a note pinned to the door. She slipped out of bed and padded across the room, taking the note down she read it and smiled to herself. Willow had gone for breakfast and she was to wait in bed for her or she wouldn't get anything.

Still high on the spirit of her birthday she almost skipped back towards the bed and settled back underneath the covers. She knew exactly where Willow would have gone, there was a small breakfast bar that opened at six am to catch all the early commuters, and they both had a love for the tea and bagels that they had on offer. It was the perfect way to start any day. It was only seven o'clock but they both had classes this morning and would need to be ready to get going by eight.

By seven twenty Tara had gotten out of bed and put some clothes on, the bar was a ten minute walk and usually had lines that didn't take longer than ten minutes to get through. Why wasn't she back yet? As she made the decision to go out and look for her, the phone rang and her stomach churned. Willow.

* * *

Buffy got to the hospital in record time, she couldn't even clearly remember leaving the house or how she got here. The important thing was that she had come; now she had to find her. They were not going to lose Willow, not now – not ever, Buffy needed her, they all needed her. As she made her way through the busy ER corridors she felt her hatred of this place grow stronger and she started to get angry. She couldn't help it; something inside of her was boiling with rage. Hospitals were not good places to be.

Later she put her anger down to worry, but at that moment she just couldn't find Willow quick enough. Finally she saw Tara sitting on a chair looking heartbroken and the anger began to fade and was replaced with sympathy, Willow was her best friend, but Tara probably felt the same, only stronger. They were lovers.

She made her way over and Tara looked up when she was about three feet away. They didn't say anything, Tara stood up and Buffy hugged her. There wasn't anything else to do, and by the looks of it Tara was alone. She had called only Buffy, the least she could do was show that she understood and on some level felt her pain.

They sat down together on the uncomfortable chairs and Tara began to cry, it was all she felt she'd been doing.

"They w-won't let me s-see her."

"Tara, what happened?"

"She was g-getting breakfast, there w-was a car, she … she didn't see … she m-must've just …" she stopped to catch her breath and calm herself down before trying to continue. "The car was a g-getaway vehicle, it just d-drove on, left her … lying on the road …"

"Did the police catch up with them?" Tara shook her head, "did anyone get a license plate number?" Tara shrugged her shoulders and looked up at Buffy through misty eyes.

"I can't l-lose her Buffy, I didn't know who I s-should call."

"What did her doctors say?"

"They haven't said anything, they w-wont tell me what's going on," Buffy looked away and then placed her hand supportively on Tara's.

"I should make some calls. Who called you?"

"Someone went through Willow's p-purse to find her n-name, she has me l-listed as her emergency contact…" her sobs came long and hard and Buffy knew she wouldn't be going to make phone calls just yet as she sat with Tara and waited for the doctors to tell them how Willow was doing.

* * *

Xander didn't remember how he got to the hospital; he just suddenly seemed to be there. His car was parked, he was looking around him and he just felt empty. Anya took his hand and squeezed it gently, he smiled appreciatively and they made their way into the building Xander had spent more time in than he cared to remember.

When he saw Buffy and Giles sitting on chairs in the corridor he'd been directed to, he put on his brave supportive face and took the hugs they each shared as a chance to recharge his batteries and remember how much they had at stake whilst Willow lay in a hospital bed.

"Where's Tara?" Buffy looked to the door that was closed beside them.

"She's talking with the doctor."

"Is she, is Willow in there?" Buffy nodded and they each took seats together. "What happened Buffy? Is she ok?"

"The doctor said there are still some tests that they have to do, things they have to check."

"What things?"

"Brain things. Things to see if she'll …"

"What?" Buffy couldn't look at Xander whilst he was upset like this, it broke her heart that even when she protected the world from demons and the purest forms of evil, she couldn't help those she loved most or protect them from life's simplest cruelties.

"If she'll wake up. She suffered a lot of damage to her head, there was bleeding. They just have to check some things out."

"But she's awake? I mean, she's sitting in there waiting to see us right?" Buffy looked up at him and felt her eyes tear up. Giles took her hand and she leaned on his shoulder. It was only when the door that led to Willow's room opened that they each stood up and waited to hear what Tara had been told.


	3. Chapter 3

When she got home some hours later, she didn't know the exact time; Buffy sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. She needed five minutes, just five minutes. But she wasn't going to get any time to herself at all, not now. Her mom and Dawn came into the living room and sat either side of her as she smiled bravely at them. Her mom put her arm around her and she leaned in close, it felt good to be close to someone right now. Dawn put her head down and wouldn't look up, even as she spoke.

"Is Willow ok?" Buffy tried to look at her but couldn't whilst she was leaning on Joyce, so she sat up right and put her own arm around her sister.

"We don't know yet Dawn. The doctors have to run some more tests, we should know more in a couple of days."

"But, I mean – she's awake?" Buffy wasn't sure how many times she could continue to tell people that Willow wasn't awake. She was lying with her eyes closed, possibly not even conscious of people in the same room as her.

"Not yet. But she's a fighter, she'll be fine," false hope is something she never liked to encourage under any circumstances, but right now she couldn't tell her kid sister that there could be complications in Willow's recovery.

"Honey, what happened?" she looked at her mom and slowly began to shake her head in slight confusion.

"From what I've been able to put together she was knocked down by a car that was speeding from a robbery. They just drove on, left her lying at the side of the road…"

"Oh my God, that's terrible, has someone told her parents?" Parents? Wow, Buffy hadn't thought of that. Willow didn't spend much time at home anymore; she never spoke about her parents or mentioned them in any way. Maybe Tara had called them? She'd check later. "Was Mr. Giles there?"

"Yeah, I called him after talking to Tara."

"How is she?" Buffy turned back to Dawn, she knew that her sister felt close to Willow and Tara, she liked all the magic stuff and they made her feel like a grown up sometimes when she got tired of being treated like a kid.

"She's doing ok, she's still at the hospital."

"Alone?"

"Xander is with her. Giles gave me a ride home and Anya went to take care of some business for him at the Magic Box."

"Is it open?"

"No. Out of respect for… well, there's no one to work there, not today. There's some kind of delivery that needs taking in, I wasn't really listening to the details," Buffy sat back into the couch and Dawn stood up.

"Can I get you anything?" Buffy smiled and shook her head.

"Thank you," Joyce stood up too and gave Dawn a hug.

"Oh honey, Riley called. I told him you'd call when you got home."

"Did you tell him about Willow?"

"As much as I could, I didn't really know what to tell him, you should call him."

"Thanks, I will," she stood up from the couch and picked up the phone, Joyce led Dawn out of the room reluctantly so that her eldest could have some privacy. When Buffy didn't get an answer at Riley's place she was upset and wondered why he hadn't waited for her to call. She headed towards the stairs to go to her room when there was a knock on the door. She opened it and was pleasantly surprised to see Riley.

"Hey," she threw herself into his arms and let him hold her close. She didn't ever want him to let her go.

* * *

Xander didn't know what to say. It was odd he supposed that his best friend had someone in her life that knew her just as well as he did, if not better. So as he and Tara sat by Willow's bed right now, he couldn't think of anything to say to her – he wasn't even sure that he should, he didn't want to assure her that Willow would be fine, he'd been doing that for about an hour.

Tara wanted to hold her. To take her home and nurse her back to health. She knew she couldn't, but it's what she wanted. She wished it were her birthday again and she could make a birthday wish. Maybe her wish could come true, and Willow would making her smile, making her feel like a million dollars. Xander had been great, she understood that he wanted to be there – but conversation had come to and end.

Neither of them was prepared to leave, but neither felt comfortable sitting with the other. It was ok when they were with the rest of the gang. But sitting with their best friend between them, fighting for life because of a stupid accident. They both wanted to be able to do something to make this all go away, but neither of them knew that one of them could.


	4. Chapter 4

Anya had offered to go to the Magic Box. She thought she understood why they weren't opening today, and despite the long line of customers who tried to get in when she opened the front door she told them all to go away. Using those exact words. She was sure that Xander would be proud of her, their friend was sick and they wanted her to get better – somehow keeping the shop closed would help with that.

She went right to the back of the store to meet the delivery guy and signed for the boxes. She had no idea what was in them, they'd ordered a whole bunch of stuff including some new lines that she had assured Giles would be big sellers. It was her job to count and check in everything that had arrived. She didn't mind – it would lead to more profit and maybe a pay rise. Besides, Xander would be at the hospital all day; she was helping by staying out of his way.

As she took stock of the crystal balls, the lucky charms, the tarot cards, the spell books, she noticed something odd. There was something missing that had arrived yesterday which she had personally had a problem with the Magic Box having in stock. She'd told Giles and he said she was over reacting and used a lot of British terms that she didn't really listen to because she knew she was right. If someone had gotten a hold of this who shouldn't then she would personally hold Giles responsible.

* * *

When Giles came to collect Buffy to take her to the hospital that night, he did so whilst arguing with Anya.

"Anya would you please stop talking about this, it's utter nonsense."

"Look, all I'm saying is that this might not be a coincidence."

"What happened to Willow was a, a terrible tragedy, but it was down to a robbery gone wrong, not some enchanted old keepsake."

"Enchanted old keepsake?" Anya was staring at Giles in a manner that made him feel as if he were wearing a tie that was getting tighter around his neck so that he was finding it hard to breathe.

"Ok, so it, it's a little more than that," Buffy appeared in the car beside Anya and neither she nor Giles acknowledged that Buffy had sat down.

"A little more than that? Giles – did you not listen to me?"

"Everything ok here?" Giles looked at Buffy for the first time and seemed relieved that she was there.

"Yes, everything's fine – Anya has a rather far fetched theory about the cause of Willow's accident this morning."

"What kind of theory?" Anya interrupted before Giles could even try to make her idea seem as crazy as it sounded.

"Something from the delivery we had at the shop today was missing."

"What was it? What does it have to do with Willow?"

"It was the key of Boubasa."

"Key of what now?" at this point Giles jumped in to explain.

"It's rumored to have been used to lock witches in their cells in Salem during the witch trials."

"Who's Boobooso?"

"Boubasa. He was a renegade witch hunter. He used some rather terrible methods in getting people to confess to being witches. Not a nice chap."

"Giles only you could describe someone like that using the words 'not a nice chap', I'm so glad I'm not British," Giles looked at Anya and tried to ignore her glaring at him as Buffy continued her enquiry.

"So, are we saying this might have something to do with Willow? Someone made something happen with this key?"

"Well the key is supposed to be enchanted with the dying words of Boubasa. He claimed that he would never allow the world to exist with witches walking along side the rest of the population."

"Giles, why did you want this in the Magic Box?"

"Well I wasn't going to sell it, besides – it's been used by novices for decades, no one's ever been able to use it to do anything – good or evil."

"We should look into it, we know nothing about what happened to the get away car this morning, where they'd come from or what they stole."

"But the Magic Box wasn't broken into, everything was secure when Anya got there this morning…"

"Actually, the delivery door wasn't locked. If I had known this was important I'd have mentioned it earlier so you wouldn't keep insisting that I was crazy," Giles swallowed heavily trying to remove the lump in his throat and then he looked at Buffy.

"Oh dear."


	5. Chapter 5

Xander had been at the hospital all day. He was tired and he was frustrated that he couldn't do anything but sit on an uncomfortable chair and try to think of funny jokes to tell Willow. For one brief moment he was sure she'd wake and laugh at something she found amusing, that he'd be the one to save her. He started to imagine her laughing with him and played conversations in his head where she told him he was a funny guy and that there was nobody else she would ever want as her best friend. Willow knew him better than he knew himself. He had thought the same about her, but then they'd all been introduced to Tara.

He liked Tara, but he just didn't think of Willow as someone who would like her in that way. He was jealous. For those first few times he saw them together, he didn't like that someone else was that close to his Willow, and he wished he'd have taken more notice of her when it was him she wanted. But he could see how happy Tara made her, and he was glad about that. He was happy for them both, and after sitting in a hospital room all day with Tara and seeing the worry in her eyes, he knew that Willow's heart lay in good hands.

When he took a break to get coffee, he saw the gang coming towards him and noticed how quickly everyone was walking, he didn't know whether to be scared or not, there were many reasons they could be in a hurry, it didn't have to mean something bad had happened.

"Xander, we have a problem," ok – so sometimes it meant something bad had happened. He took his coffee and sat down with everyone outside Willow's room. "How's she doing?"

"No change. Tara went to get some of her things, make it a little more comfortable for Will."

"Well, I mean, do they really think she'll be in here that long?"

"She's not even awake Buffy, it's not like they're just waiting for a broken bone to heal or a mild concussion to pass, it's about as bad as it gets," they all looked at each other and Anya moved to stand beside Xander, she hugged him and he smiled at her. "Thanks. So what's this big problem? Is there a new big bad?"

"Maybe. Something was stolen from the Magic Box and it could've been used to hurt Willow."

"And we didn't know this before because?"

"Because Giles wouldn't treat it as something serious, he was wrong, isn't that right Buffy?" Giles rolled his eyes and looked at Xander to explain. When he'd told him all they knew so far they each sat with their own thoughts before saying anything.

"We gotta find out what happened with this robbery, we have to know who it was and if they were caught."

"Wouldn't there have been something on the news if it was that big a deal?"

"Have any of us even looked at a TV or picked up a newspaper today?" they exchanged glances. "Exactly, we need to figure this out like, yesterday, we need to help Willow," as they all stood to figure out who should do what, Giles lifted a hand up in contest.

"Look, I know we're all worried and it's been an awful day, but we don't know anything at all about what's happened here. And if it's mystical, I think we should tread very carefully."

"This coming from the guy who didn't think there was anything to worry about," Giles turned to Anya and was about to pick his fight when Buffy intervened.

"Ok look, Xander, Anya – why don't you see what you can find out from the cops, I'm gonna see what the word on the street is about this key of Boobooso."

"Boubasa."

"Whatever, Giles, Anya, hit the books, see what you can find about this guy and his key," they all headed out and Giles' calls for attention were ignored by everyone as their individual voices carried louder than the last.

"What about Tara?" finally everyone stopped and looked at Giles, "someone should, should call her or stay here until she gets back."

"I'll stay."

"Anya, are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure, I like Tara, and I think she'd be comforted by me," before Giles could make a joke Buffy pushed him towards the door and Xander followed. They had their plan, now they had to put it in motion.

* * *

Tara had picked out some clothes but wasn't sure if she should take them to the hospital or not. Was it inappropriate to bring Willow things that she wasn't going to be able to use? She's picked out some music for her to listen to, some books that she could read to her, a hair brush to comb her hair, her favorite stuffed animal, but clothes? No. It wasn't time for that. She put them back into the closet and sat down with the stuffed animal on the bed.

She imagined Willow sitting next to her, holding her, telling her that they'd be together forever, that they'd be happy and never have to face anything alone. Well Tara was alone now. How could she get through this without that strong guiding hand that had transformed her from the stuttering quiet shell she had been to the slightly more confident woman she was now? She couldn't pull it off without her.

Her birthday had been the ideal time for her to start and try to fit in more, she could do that, she wanted to. But only if Willow was there. Everything was so messed up. She had called Willow's parents; they had been surprised to hear from her, they'd never met or spoken, but knew about her relationship with Willow. They were on vacation but would get the first flight home. They had been short with her and didn't try to make conversation, in fairness – they had just heard that their daughter had been in a serious accident.

Tara knew she was overreacting. Of course it was an awkward and horrible phone call. Of course it would be strange being around the others without Willow making her feel at home. But she was going to be fine. She was going to wake up and everything was going to be ok. She didn't care what it took or what she had to do, she would make this better, and she would not lose Willow, not now. Not ever.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ok, so I got nothing much from the cops, they haven't caught anybody yet, and they had no more information than what's been on the news. So I watched the news and that was less helpful than the cops. When did people stop giving a damn around here?"

"Did they ever give a damn?"

"Good point," Xander had gone to help Giles research at the shop because his inquiries had come to a dead end very quickly, "all I know is that they broke into that storage building a couple of blocks away, the one with the big sign on the front, nothing was missing but according to eye witness reports they came from the direction of the Magic Box. I think they have our key Giles."

"I think you might be right."

"Did you find something?"

"Nothing particularly nice, our Boubasa didn't care for witches at all, he thought burning or drowning, or even stoning – torture basically, was too good for them."

"Sounds like a nice guy."

"Well, he was eventually stopped and locked away for his crimes by the town's people in Salem."

"How come we don't hear of this guy when we do history at school? You never learn the important stuff, enchanted keys and renegade witch hunters."

"Well none of this was documented officially, what happened to him was kept from everybody, recorded only by the court who kept everything sealed from the public."

"Did he meet an excruciating painful death?"

"He disappeared."

"What?"

"He was sentenced to death, but before they got to him he disappeared from one of his own locked chambers, the key had been given to a local judge to keep safe, they found a blank piece of parchment in his chamber and when it was placed with the key words appeared on claiming that he had exchanged his soul with the devil so he could bring down witches for all eternity."

"Why would someone who hated witches make a deal with the devil?"

"I suppose he thought that if he could live for eternity he would never have to worry about where his soul ended up."

"That's messed up."

"Quite. It would seem that he claimed his soul had been placed in the key, that he would forever live inside it taking witches souls with him."

"But you said that the key wasn't mystical? That no one has been able to do anything with it or gain anything from it?"

"And that's true, I said the key was enchanted and it is, I don't think it can do anything unless Boubasa himself orchestrates it himself. The key lies dormant until he wants to awaken."

"So if someone bought it at a yard sale to hang on the wall as an old yet stylish seventeenth century key, it would just hang there?" Giles nodded his head, "how about if someone used it to stir a potion?"

"I don't think it would do anything."

"Interesting. So – when this Boubasa wants to take a witches soul, what exactly does the key do and how can we find out if he's responsible for Willow?"

"That I don't know. But hopefully when Buffy reports back she'll have some news from the demon communities about what all this might be about, or indeed if it's leading to anything bigger."

"My best friend's lying unconscious in hospital, this is as big as it can get."

* * *

When Tara got back to the hospital she was surprised to see Anya sitting on the edge of Willow's bed talking to her. She stepped into the room and Anya turned upon hearing her enter.

"Oh Tara, hi, we were just talking."

"We?"

"Well, I was talking to Willow, she's a real good listener," they looked at each other and then Tara moved closer to Willow and put down the things she was carrying.

"Where did Xander go?"

"To talk to the cops about what happened this morning, and Giles is doing research and Buffy went to kick some demon ass for information, don't worry we'll figure out who did this," Anya patted Tara's arm and both remained silent.

"I d-don't understand, what does any of this have to do with, W-Willow?"

"Oh, there's a key that I warned Giles about that could be the reason Willow was involved in an accident, it could be something mystical."

"M-mystical?" Anya nodded her head smiling, she thought she was helping but Tara was confused and didn't understand what was going on.

"Dawn?" Anya walked towards Dawn and Tara turned to see her just as Joyce appeared behind.

"Hi girls, we wanted to see how Willow was doing, Tara I hope you don't mind us visiting?"

"N-not at all, please," Joyce and Dawn stepped inside and both hugged Tara. Anya felt a little crowded to left to get coffees, Joyce offered to help and left Dawn to sit with Tara.

"Can she hear me?"

"I'm sure she can Dawny, she'll be h-happy to know you're here," Dawn looked at Willow lying in the bed and Tara put her arm around her, "she's gonna be f-fine Dawn. Just fine."


End file.
